few there are who can give an intelligent exposition of their own principles, and their reasons for cher ishing them. So, then, I am sorry to say, most of the Christian denominations speak of each other, either in ignorance, or prejudice, in something, or somewhere. Now, is there any sense or manliness, not to say true religion, in this state of things? Can we not frankly, without ill-natured controversy, calmly, without disturbed passion, and freely, without restraint, explain to each other what we hold, and why? And then, if we fail to see alike, we shall mutually respect each other's convictions. Let me make an honest attempt to do this, on the Baptist side of the house. Of course it will be impossible for me to give you all the reasons for what we believe and do, in one address; this would require volumes. I must be content, therefore, with telling you what we believe and do, without giving the reasons.

You all know, to begin with, that as a sect we have the unenviable distinction of being "everywhere spoken against"; for we are not honored in one place, and subjected to obloquy in another-the detraction is pretty evenly spread. Perhaps it does us no injury, as "a prophet has no honor in his own country," but that makes it no easier to bear; rather a little harder, because a Baptist prophet has none either there or anywhere else. This may be a true sign of prophethood; I do not deny that, but I do deny that we enjoy proscription because we find

that it is refreshing. Even this prejudice makes us the more anxious to be understood by others, as we understand ourselves. We hold, then, to these three great foundation principles, namely :

1. That the book called the Bible is given by the inspiration of God, and is the only rule of Christian faith and practice. The consequence is, that we have no creeds, nor catechisms, nor decretals, which bind us by their authority. We think a creed worth nothing, unless it is supported by Scriptural authority, and if the creed is founded on the word of God, we do not see why we should not rest on that word 'which props up the creed; we prefer to go back directly to the foundation itself and rest there alone. If it is able to sustain us, we need nothing else, and if it is not, then we cannot rest upon a creed to support us when that creed has no support for itself. Some of our churches have what they call "Declarations," or "Articles of Faith," which are mere statements of what they think that the Bible teaches, but they are not put forth by any theological or ecclesiastical authority, and therefore do not bind the consciences of the churches. Some of our churches have no such" Articles" or " Declarations," because they find no need for them, and those who use them do not all use the same. Our churches hold that Jesus Christ is the only Law-giver, and the only King in Zion; that his law is laid down in the Scriptures, and is perfect: and, therefore, they refuse

2. A regenerated church membership. No person can become a member of a Baptist church, till he professes to have found the remission of his sins, by faith in the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many fall into the mistake that, in some way or other, we are sacramentarians; that is, that we associate the moral renovation of the soul with baptism and the Lord's Supper. This is a sad mistake. We believe that man cannot be "born from above, or made a new creature," excepting by the sovereign influence of the Holy Spirit on the heart, leading the sinner to accept the benefits of Christ's atonement, by faith, to the free justification of his soul. Then, when he is regenerated, or as the word means, generated again, we accept him as a fit subject for baptism. In that act, he professes his faith in Christ as his present Saviour. So far from baptizing a man, in order that his soul may be regenerated thereby, we administer it to him because he is already regenerated by the Spirit of God. We say to him, “You have no right to baptism till you are born again,' till you have a new heart, and are made a temple of the Holy Spirit. All the waters on the globe, and all the religious services that may be used in connection with water, cannot cleanse your soul of one stain or blot which sin has left. But now that you are regenerated from above, it is your duty to be baptized, and your privilege to be baptized, and by that act to declare that you are already a renewed man. And

because you are now 'dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto righteousness,' you must be buried with Christ in baptism' just as Christ was first buried in the waters of the Jordan, and then in the tomb of Joseph; that like as he was raised again by the glory of the father, even so should ye walk in newness of life." This is the doctrine of baptism as Paul preaches it in the sixth chapter of Romans, and this is the reason that we immerse men, because when men are "buried," they are covered in the tomb. This is what we understand by burying a believer "with Christ in baptism." You will see therefore, that we must

3. Reject infant baptism. An infant, we think, cannot be brought to the Lord's baptism, any more properly than it can be brought to the Lord's supper. It cannot discern the import of the Lord's baptism, any more than it can discern the Lord's body, therefore, it cannot show forth the significancy of one, any more than it can the significancy of the other. It is a subject for neither ordinance. On this point the North British Review exactly expresses our views when it says: "Scripture knows nothing of the baptism of infants. There is absolutely not a single trace of it to be found in the New Testament. The recognized baptism of the ancient church was that of adults." But we do not rest there, on this subject. Professor Lange, of Jena, who is not a Baptist, expresses our views more fully, when he

says: "Would the Protestant church fulfill and attain to its final destiny, the baptism of infants must of necessity be abolished." Now this learned man thinks that infant baptism should be abolished, if Protestantism would reach its "final destiny." But he does not give us his reasons for thinking so. Our own views on the same subject are these:-It seems to us that infant baptism is in conflict with the great doctrine of the atonement of Christ. We believe that if an infant dies, it is saved by the virtue of Christ's blood-shedding, and not by a few drops of water, nor an ocean full. It looks to us, therefore, to be laying a great stress on water in salvation, to be christening the child in death, as well as to foster superstition; as if the death of Jesus were not enough to save it, whereas in heaven, the ransomed babe will sing glory, and ascribe salvation "unto him who has washed us in his blood," and not to him who christened us. Then we think that infant baptism is a great evil and should be "abolished," because, if the christened child lives, his christening has introduced him into the visible. church, and thereby corrupted the gospel simplicity of the church relation. The whole of the State churches of Europe are made up of persons who were christened as infants. No wonder that they are corrupt churches. When infant baptism makes all the population members of the church, that act blots out all lines of distinction between a converted